Junko Kurosawa

Name: Junko Kurosawa

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Grade: Junior

School: Cochise High School

Hobbies and Interests: parkour, track team, rollerblading, animation, weed, comic books, video games, Japanese culture and history

Appearance: Junko has dark hair, which has been trimmed into a pixie cut with bangs. She usually trims it herself, so on occasion it can be somewhat uneven. It's not styled in any particular way, aside from her bangs being combed across her forehead. The texture is somewhat on the thicker side, though she does take some amount of care of it.

Her biological mother had emigrated from Japan as a child, while her father was a mixture of Japanese and English. As such, she appears mostly Asian. Her skin tone is tanned, due to her being outdoors often. Junko has somewhat narrowed eyes, an upturned nose, and thinner lips on an oval shaped face. Because of her angled eyebrows she looks angry when her face is at rest. She has only worn any kind of makeup on a small number of occasions as a result of her active lifestyle. Junko has multiple piercings on her body. The first ones she received were her ears in elementary, followed by her left nostril in freshman year. Earlier in the school year she has had her lower lip pierced. Junko prefers small studs for the ears and nose, and a labret for the lip.

Junko is on the smaller side, at 4'11 and 110 pounds. It's something that tends to embarass her, and she often postures herself in ways to make herself seem bigger, such as standing with legs spread or with arms akimbo. She has a runner's build, with lean muscle and minimal curves. Junko has callused knees and elbows with the occasional scrape, as a result of her physical activities.

Her clothing preferences tend to be more suited for her active lifestyle. Junko prefers track pants, though she often wears jeans and cargo pants as well. To go with it she wears tank tops and short-sleeved t-shirts, often plain colored. Junko has a favorite black zip-up hoodie that she wears on a regular basis; when the weather is too hot she ties it around her waist. Because of her petite frame, she sometimes has trouble finding clothes that fit properly. Sometimes pant legs can be long on her, causing her to slice a slit at the bottom and to roll them up as tightly as possible so that they better fit her leg length. Most of the time Junko wears sneakers, and the pair she has currently are black with red accents. She often alternates between fingerless gloves and armbands. Junko also often wears a pair of wire-framed brown aviators that she usually keeps on her.

On the day of the abduction this didn't change much; she wore a charcoal grey tank top, a pair of brown cargo pants, and black fingerless gloves. As usual she wore her sneakers, this time with black socks. Inside one of her pants' pockets she kept her aviators. Junko kept her hoodie tied around her waist, just in case.

Biography: Junko's birth mother, Erika Sato, was a high school senior at the time of her conception. The father, who was another student and her boyfriend at the time, was supportive at first. However, he became unreliable and eventually decided not to support Erika and her child. She panicked, feeling that she wouldn’t be able to support her child on her own, even if she got help from family and friends. She decided to place the child up for adoption, because she felt that there were people in better positions to raise a child than her.

Erika came into contact with Sarah McAllister and Koharu Kurosawa. The two of them were a same-sex couple in a domestic partnership living in San Diego, California. Sarah, at the time, was working as a high-ranking manager at a cafe, and had the dream of starting a restaurant of her own. Koharu, like Erika, was a Japanese immigrant, and worked full-time as a park ranger at Cabrillo National Monument. They both were easy-going and relaxed, and were good with children.

While the agency felt that Erika would prefer a heterosexual married couple, she felt Koharu and Sarah were ideal. The paperwork process was lengthy, but the three of them filled it out in its entirety. After finding out the child was a girl, the three of them decided on a name together. She was given Koharu’s family name, and her first name was inspired by Erika’s father, Jun, who had passed away the previous year. Because of California adoption laws at the time, Junko was listed as a single parent adoption by Koharu, rather than a joint adoption by both of them. It is also why Junko shares Koharu's last name rather than Sarah's.

Because of it being an open adoption, Junko has met Erika. They have met up with or contacted each other throughout her life; the first in-person meeting that Junko remembers was when she was four. She has always known that she was her birth mother, but her feelings about her are more like an aunt or an older sister. They have kept in touch via email and phone calls. As for her father, Junko has little interest in finding out his identity or contacting him. She has wondered, but she feels content in not knowing his identity or having him as part of her life. She does know some details, such as his name, from legal and medical documents, but Erika has not been in contact with him often since high school, nor has Junko made an effort to contact him, mostly out of lack of interest. As far as Junko is concerned, Koharu and Sarah are her parents. While she refers to them by their first names, it’s for clarity rather than anything to do with how close she is to them.

Just before Junko entered first grade, her family decided to move to Kingman. The reason why was related to Sarah's business. She finally was in a position to start a restaurant of her own. However, she felt it would be more convenient to relocate to Kingman. Buying housing and a spot for the restaurant would have been cheaper than in San Diego, and Sarah had family in the area, due to it being her hometown, who would help her as she started up her business. In particular, Sarah's family had been in Kingman for generations, her parents having founded a historical museum that was fondly remembered by locals when it was in business. In addition, Sarah thought she could sell better to customers in Kingman than those in San Diego, since she had grown up there and knew how to appeal to them. After a long period of discussion, she and Koharu agreed on it, and made plans to move. Junko doesn't remember much about California due to her being relatively young when she lived there, but at the time she did feel a bit of sadness and frustration towards her family moving, and being separated from the friends she made. Koharu had found a job working as a full-time park ranger at Hualapai Mountain Park. Sarah's restaurant, a bakery cafe christened "Bread & Circuses", took a few months before it fully got off the ground. However, it has since become successful, in some part because of its Historic Downtown location and help from family members.

From a young age Junko proved to be a handful. She was an energetic, adventurous child, and found ways to get into trouble often. While she obeyed her mothers when asked not to do things, her adventurous tendencies still found ways to land her in trouble. For example, she had a tendency to climb on things she wasn't allowed to, like tables. On one occasion in first grade, the teachers called home because her and a friend were play-fighting on campus, which, while no one was hurt, wasn't allowed. On another, during the same year, she and a classmate were having a mock sword-fight with sticks, which was quickly broken up by a teacher. It wasn’t helped when, at a friend’s house, the two of them ended up watching the show Jackass through re-runs and VHS in third grade; the friend's parents were more lax and weren't paying too much attention when she was over. As a result, they, along with a few other friends, attempted their own stunts like the show. Most of it was tame, like daring each other to eat unpleasant things or to jump off objects. One of the worst Koharu had walked in on and put a stop to: they had tried to snort sriracha up their noses. This was inspired by a similar stunt in one of the movies involving wasabi. After this incident, she and Sarah discovered that she had seen the show. They took Junko aside, explaining that nothing in the show was to be attempted. From that point onward, they were more careful with what Junko watched. If they found she was watching a new cartoon or show, they would remind her that she wasn't allowed to imitate anything in it, and would remind her friends' parents on what she was and was not allowed to watch. In addition, because the sriracha was high enough for her to reach it, they started to put it and other food items that could be used in a similar manner up higher so that there would not be a repeat incident, and were more careful about what she could reach.

When they disciplined Junko, Sarah and Koharu were both understanding and firm. They usually punished her by taking away privileges for a set amount of time. At the same time, they tried not to raise their voices when she misbehaved, even if she tested their patience, and when they discussed her behavior with her they generally kept calm and didn't let themselves get too angry. They also set clear rules; for example, Junko wasn't allowed to go outside to play until she finished her chores, which were generally things they agreed on and were age-appropriate, such as helping set the table or sweeping the floor. They made it a point to encourage good behavior, such as complimenting her on learning quickly at school and letting her pick out reasonably healthy meals she wanted to eat if she behaved while at the store. There was some concern about whether or not Junko's behavior was a result of their family having moved. However, while some of her behavior did come from frustration from the move, it was largely because Junko was naturally an energetic, impressionable child.

Sarah and Koharu felt that getting Junko interested in a physical activity would channel her energy a bit. Sarah grew up rollerblading around the area, and still did on her own time. She decided to get Junko involved, and took her out to skate parks and other areas with her own pair of inline skates, just before summer break in third grade. Junko quickly took to it, and practiced on a regular basis. While at first she could only roll around, she learned how to do grinds, jump over objects, and get air on quarter pipes. By sixth grade, she was able to master soul and alley-oop grinds, as well as perform a wall-ride. She generally learned stunts from Sarah, or from friends who also practiced rollerblading. Junko has experimented with a fair amount of styles, but the one she generally uses is more on the aggressive side, and she practices at the Desert Plains Skate Park on a weekly basis. In addition, she keeps her rollerblades and protection on her in a tote bag so that she can skate to and from places, such as a friend's house. Sarah and Junko still practice together when the two of them have free time. Junko enjoys rollerblading because she enjoys both the rush, as well as being able to get to places quickly when she uses them for transportation. She also enjoys being able to pull off stunts and impressing people with what she is capable of. She was particularly proud of herself when she learned how to do a 360 soul grind a few months ago, and nowadays often shows off that she can do it.

One thing that Sarah and Koharu found encouraged positive behavior in Junko was video games. If she got good grades and didn’t get into trouble recently, she was allowed to receive new games or to go to an arcade. Growing up, she was fond of Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda, though she also had a fondness for Street Fighter and Tekken as she entered sixth grade. Like her television habits, they kept an eye on what she was playing, and reminded her that she wasn't to imitate the acts shown outside of the games. She still owns a Gameboy Advance with a few games, one of which is Pokemon Ruby, that she still uses out of nostalgia. Junko shares this interest to this day, and tries to get caught up on more recent games. Her favorites tend to be fighting or action games, but she also has a fondness for horror as well. One of her current favorites is the recent indie horror game series Five Nights at Freddy’s. Junko owns both console and PC games, but she more recently has been getting games off the Steam and Game Jolt websites more often than finding console games.

In junior high, Junko joined the track team. She felt that it appealed to her because of her preference for high-energy athletic activities. She never was good at field events like shotput or discus, but track events were where she both excelled and enjoyed. Junko loved competing in events, and loved winning. For a period of time starting from her sophomore year, she even had the record for Cochise High School's fastest 400 meter run. It was broken last winter, and she has since never regained her status. Nonetheless she’s dedicated to the team and attends practice regularly. Junko prefers sprinting events rather than cross-country, though she has participated in middle-distance events. She rarely partakes in cross-country due to her liking the feeling of sprinting better than running a marathon or endurance runs. Junko is this year's track team captain, and is dedicated to the role.

Starting from freshman year, Junko began showing more of an interest in Japanese culture. While Koharu and to a lesser extent Sarah were both fluent in the language and spoke it at home, Junko began studying it closer. Because her family spoke a mixture of Japanese and English, Junko already understood the language enough to have a conversation in it. Junko mostly understands hiragana due to it being taught to children and beginners in general; while she can read a few kanji from her parents occasionally writing in the language, it's still fairly rudimentary. One of the ways she practiced Japanese was reading and watching media in it, and setting websites to the language whenever possible. She also started asking Koharu, Sarah, and Erika about Japan, and how things were when they were there. Because she has had trouble learning kanji in particular due to the vast number of symbols, Sarah and Koharu gave her a set of kanji flashcards for her 16th birthday. They have also helped in in other ways, such as writing notes to her using both kanji and English words. While her understanding of kanji has improved, in that she can read and to some extent write some symbols, but she still has some trouble learning. In addition to studying the language, she showed an interest in the culture and traditions, and liked researching information on it in her own time through library books and websites on the topic. Junko has also researched a bit into Japanese history; one of the things that currently fascinates her is the wokou, which refers to pirates of mixed ethnicities that roamed the coastlines of East Asia starting from the 13th century. She had found out about them while checking out a book on Asian history in the library. While she has never admitted it, this started because she felt a connection to the culture due to being Asian-American. She has said that she wants to visit Japan some day, maybe once she's done with her education, since she's never been personally.

This has extended into her having a fondness for Japanese media, including anime. She tends to enjoy more action based series. Some examples include Dragonball, Attack on Titan, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Junko also considers Kill la Kill to be a guilty pleasure due to the fanservice. Her least favorite genre happens to be anime centered on "moe". The reason why is because she finds it creepy, as well as feeling that most of it is either uninteresting or has bad writing. Junko also reads manga, many of which have anime adaptations of them that she watches. She prefers watching anime and reading manga in the original language, but doesn't mind translations beyond finding them occasionally awkward.

Aside from anime, Junko also likes Western animation. Two of her favorites would be the Avatar series and Adventure Time. The reason why is because she enjoys the extensive character arcs and plot lines both have, which she tends to prefer in any medium. However, she has a fondness for nostalgic series such as the classic "Cartoon Cartoons", Ed, Edd, 'n Eddy and Courage the Cowardly Dog being examples. She prefers Cartoon Network and Adult Swim over Nickelodeon, Disney, or Fox as a whole, even if she feels that it has focused less on actual animation over time. Junko follows the "Toonami Aftermath" online stream regularly, as well as watches Adult Swim on a weekly basis. The reason why she prefers animation is because she feels it can do things in storytelling and comedy that live-action cannot, such as a character doing impossible acts for the sake of humor.

Another interest Junko has is comic books. Some of her friends were interested in it in late freshman year. Junko already started reading manga, but she was curious about what was appealing about Western comics. She started following some series, and developed a fondness for superhero comics in particular. If asked, she would say that she prefers Marvel over DC, due to feeling that it has more of a sense of humor about its verse, as well as finding the characters and plotlines more interesting. She has a love of the Avengers, partly because of the recent movies, and while it's a hard pick for her, Black Widow would be her favorite of them. She does not have any particular favorite writers or artists, though she has a dislike of Rob Liefield and Greg Land, the former because she doesn't like his storytelling, characterizations, or artwork, and the latter because she finds his habit of tracing distasteful. Junko also happens to have a habit of reading scans of Silver Age comics, largely because she finds their unusual storylines charming in their own right. Junko usually obtains copies to read either through buying them personally, reading scans online, or from borrowing them off friends.

Starting from the summer before sophomore year, Junko began an interest in parkour. It started when she saw Youtube videos on the subject, and it intrigued her due to her thrill-seeking tendencies. She found a few websites and instructional videos on the subject, but she had a hard time getting it right. While she was never seriously hurt, she did fall down a lot, which resulted in bruises. The reason why she persisted in learning was to show she could do it if she just kept practicing; she was legitimately interested in learning how to pull off the same things she saw on Youtube. When she did, she tried to keep close to the ground, so if she fell it would be less of a fall. Sarah and Koharu found out that Junko developed an interest in it when they saw her looking at an instructional video on her computer. After Junko explained what it was, and her interest in it, the two of them expressed a few concerns, such as whether or not she was trespassing on other's property or whether she was practicing safely. However, Sarah did happen to have a friend who practiced parkour, who also provided group lessons. After a discussion with said friend, she felt that the best thing to do would be to recommend Junko to her classes, so she would know how to practice parkour both safely and legally. The classes were affordable, and Junko improved significantly after having someone instruct her personally. One of the reason why she was having trouble to begin with was because she didn't understand the philosophy well, and didn't realize that parkour was less stuntwork and more about moving in the most practical and efficient manner. After having the parkour coach explain it to her a bit better, though, she understood what the overall goal was, which improved her skills. She still makes it a point to practice every Saturday, and when she practices alone she tries to pick areas where trespassing or danger wouldn't be as huge a factor, such as Sumac Park.

As a student, Junko is a procrastinator. She has a bad habit of putting projects off until the last minute, only to rush when she realizes that she still needs to finish it. This is less because of laziness, and more because she tends to be absentminded, and forget details such as when assignments are due. Koharu and Sarah are both aware of this, and often remind her to finish her work and to write details like due dates and what she needs for projects down in a place where she can find it easily. They also like to help her with huge projects wherever possible, as well as help her with homework she is having trouble with. Junko prefers classes that allow her to do things with her hands or body rather than listening to a lecture or studying. The classes she is best at are P.E. and science. However, she has trouble with math courses. Junko, despite her procrastination, is a B student, with the occasional A.

Junko’s thrill-seeking tendencies have stayed with her throughout her life. Aside from her physical activity, she tends to take up challenges. For example, she has beaten the Pike’s Peak Sundae Challenge at Diamondback Ice Cream Parlor. Junko also has a tendency to experiment with spicy or unusual food. While she doesn’t do it often, she has completed several of the Internet challenges, such as the cinnamon, ice bucket, and saltine ones. During visits to amusement parks, she gravitates towards thrill rides and attractions. Junko prefers activities with a competitive or adrenaline-boosting edge, and seeks them out. This has led to her dragging her friends to activities they would not be interested in. She also tends to give people dares, or play pranks on them. For example, she has a habit of showing them unusual videos, such as the anime short "Me!Me!Me!" and the web series "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared", purely to see what their reaction would be. Another example would be when she borrowed a friend's laptop for a project for a few minutes, and once she was done she changed their homepage to a Youtube video of Nicholas Cage in The Wicker Man. During a sleepover around Halloween, she placed a plastic skeleton near a friend's sleeping bag while they were asleep. On one occasion, she and another friend made a bet: whoever lost would have to upload a Youtube video of themselves wearing cat ears and behaving like a stereotypical anime fan. Junko lost this bet, and kept her word. Junko makes friends easily because of her extroversion, and she's generally good-natured about the kind of pranks and dares she pulls. When people do similar things to her she tends to laugh about it; there's been very few times where anything pulled on her seriously offended her. In addition, she makes it a point not to do anything that would seriously offend them on purpose. The kind of friends she makes tend to be of various social groups, though a fair portion are involved in athletics or geek culture in some way. Occasionally her active lifestyle can be a bit much for others, and as a result she can be exhausting to those around her due to her wanting to do a lot of activities within a short period of time.

Her temperament is more on the confident side, perhaps to the point of arrogance. Junko is proud of what accomplishments she has, and tends to play up what she’s capable of through boasting. Her self-image is mostly positive. One of the few things she feels self-conscious about is the fact that she’s one of the shorter students. She has a temper, and certain topics tend to inspire significant amounts of anger. When she does get angry, it usually results in her arguing with the person who brought up the subject.

One of the major ones is homophobia. Aside from growing up with same-sex parents, Junko has, from a young age, felt that gender wasn't a factor in who she was interested in. It wasn’t any particular incident that made her realize this. Rather, she noticed over time that she was attracted less to genders and more to personalities. At first she identified as bisexual, but later identified as pansexual after learning the word. Koharu and Sarah are both proud of her for coming out about her preferences at a young age. She gets upset if it's implied that it's in any way abnormal to show interest in anyone but a cisgender male. Junko’s political stance is more on the liberal side in general, and she has gotten into arguments about politics in the past.

Junko is close to both of her mothers. While Koharu and Sarah are both sometimes busy with their respective jobs, they are attentive parents. The two of them are invested in Junko’s life, and try to help her as much as possible whenever she’s having trouble. After gay marriage was legalized in Arizona the previous October, Koharu proposed to Sarah a month later. Junko was happy when she heard the news. Both of her mothers had told her growing up that they would love to get married, with all the legal and social benefits. It would have also helped with having Sarah legally recognized as a legal guardian of Junko's; she was listed as a step-parent in 2010, but occasionally there has still been paperwork issues related to their guardianship. The wedding took place roughly a month before the trip. While planning has stressed both of them out they are happy to finally make things official.

Junko usually is truthful and lets Koharu and Sarah in on her personal life, feeling there’s little for her to hide. There are a few exceptions to this, though. One of the major things that she tries to hide is that she uses marijuana. It started when she smoked some with a few friends in late freshman year, though she later progressed to smoking in her own time. Junko doesn’t smoke regularly, and more when she feels she needs to unwind or on special occasions, about once in one or two months. She is also careful when she does, and tries not to smoke in places where she can get caught, such as school, as well as lessening her use significantly during track seasons. Junko prefers rolling hers up into joints, rather than using bongs or similar. The way she buys marijuana is that she knows someone around her age who happens to deal in it. She generally smokes at friends' houses. One tactic she likes to use is to wash her clothes in vinegar once she gets home, and use eyedrops and, if possible, her favorite sunglasses to hide her eyes. Despite Junko’s attempts to not let them know, Koharu and Sarah are aware of it. One of them had found a bag placed on the desk in her room in a moment of carelessness. Neither of them have confronted her about it, and don’t disapprove as much as Junko thinks. While they have been concerned about her habits, both of them feel that discouraging it would only make it more tempting. Also, they feel that as long as she stays safe, doesn’t get into legal trouble, or try anything harder it wasn't as huge an issue.

Currently, Junko is employed at Larson’s Comics and Games. While the idea of working at Bread & Circuses did occur to her, she felt like she wanted to keep her personal life and job separate. To her, having her mother be her boss would be potentially awkward, so she has never asked. Junko applied to Larson's due to her interest in manga and superhero comics, as well as having fond memories of it growing up due to her parents taking her to the arcade corner when she was a child. She is dedicated to her job, and as part of it she tries to keep track of the latest trends in products sold in the store. Junko had prior experience with video games, comic books, and manga, while with the tabletop games she didn't have the patience to fully understand the rules of. However, she likes to read the latest comics and manga specifically so she understands what customers would ask about.

Junko is unsure about what she wants to do with the rest of her life. She has already made plans to go to college, since Koharu and Sarah have said that they want her to further her education. She knows she would like something that would appeal to her thrill-seeking personality, and that she would love to travel. Junko is currently arranging an appointment with a guidance counselor to see what careers would suit her.

Advantages: She is one of the faster students at school, and is athletic. Junko is confident, and wouldn't back down easily. Because of her history of thrill-seeking behavior, she would be less likely to freeze up if something unexpected occurs. Her smaller size could make it easier for her to find a hiding place.

Disadvantages: Her thrill-seeking personality might cause her to rush into situations. Junko can be prideful, which can alienate potential allies. She also has a temper, and can get defensive when certain topics come up. Her absentmindedness may cause her to forget important items or not pay attention to her surroundings. Junko's smaller size might make it easier for larger students to overpower her.

Designated Number: Female student No. 041

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Designated Weapon: Wooden Baseball Bat

Conclusion: I don't care how fast G041 is, she should realize now that there's no outrunning a bullet. Regardless it'll be interesting to see how they react to the life and death thrills we have on offer here. Watch this space, the kid could go far. - Josie Knight

'The above biography is as written by KamiKaze. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: KamiKaze

Kills: 

Killed By: 

Collected Weapons:  Wooden Baseball Bat (assigned weapon)

Allies: 

Enemies: Darius Van Dyke

Mid-game Evaluation: Junko was practicing with her assigned bat atop the helipad when she was found by Darius Van Dyke. He convinced her he had a plan, and she gave him a bottle of her water. He drank the bottle and claimed his plan was to create messages in a bottle, much to her anger. This led her to confront him, he refused to back down and she struck him with her bat, multiple times. The duel became a full melee, Darius was only barely able to escape with injuries, leaving Junko to lick her wounds and reflect on her having attacked a classmate.

Later she was exploring the asylum library, and was undetected by Jasmine Reed when she entered the room. Junko decided she couldn't allow herself to have a conscience, she struck Jasmine's head with the bat to knock her out and left with Jasmine's bag and supplies. She fled to the cove, where she spent the night. In the morning she exercised to calm her mind, after a few laps she heard announcements. She was given reason to believe she was justified in being belligerent, given Jasmine having killed Joshua Bracewell.

Post-Game Evaluation: 

Memorable Quotes:

Other/Trivia

 * Junko is actually a composite of two different concepts. One, also named Junko Kurosawa, was a gang member with flame-based powers in the roleplay "The Riverside Incident" who was never submitted (coincidentally, this version also used a bat in addition to the fire powers). The other concept shared the same background of being an adrenaline junkie who saw Jackass as a kid and had same-sex parents. Eventually her handler took bits and pieces of both characters to make Junko.
 * Most, if not all, threads started by Junko are direct or indirect references to Jackass.

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Junko, in chronological order.

V6 Pregame:
 * Pool Slingshot
 * I Hate Mustard
 * You Can't Roller Skate in A Buffalo Herd

Sadie Hawkins:
 * I Know What My Fortune is

V6:
 * 96+ Quite Bitter Beings
 * Helvetica Standard
 * Slow Motion Rocky Punches
 * St. Patrick's Purgatory

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Junko Kurosawa. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''